The word Punjab is a xenonym/exonym from the Persian words Panj (Persian: پنج‎) and Aab (Persian: آب‎) - which are cognate with the Sanskrit words "panch" and "aab" that means "five" and "water", respectively, thus Punjab means "Five Rivers", which roughly means "Land of Five Rivers".The five rivers are the Beas, Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab and Jehlum (also spelled Jhelum). Traditionally, in English, there used to be a definite article before the name, i.e. "The Punjab".The name is also sometimes spelled as "Punjab". The name Punjab was given to the region by Maharaja Ranjeet Singh."

"The cuisine of Punjab has an enormous variety of mouth-watering vegetarian as well as non vegetarian dishes. The spice content ranges from minimal to pleasant to high. Punjabi food is usually relished by people of all communities. The philosophy of life for most of the Punjabis is to eat, drink and make merry. They are real lively people who are extremely fond of eating good food. In the preparation of Punjabi food, onion, ginger and garlic are used extensively to enhance the taste of the food.